The Sword, the Stone, and the Spider
by Mungo
Summary: aka “When Harry met Silmarilli” - A story of rebirth, regret, resentment, and redemption. Follow the mysterious journey of thirteen of Rowling's characters through their eyes as they enter the extraordinary world of Tolkien. Contains DH spoilers.
1. The Stranger, the Life Exchanger

Disclaimer: All characters and settings are based on the writings of J.K. Rowling and/or J.R.R. Tolkien. I am not and will not make any money off this.

Word of warning: this story will frustrate you if you are an avid Harry Potter fan and it will doubly frustrate you if you are also a Tolkien fan. However, I promise that if you stick it out all your frustrations will be alleviated by the end and you will find an enjoyable story until you get to that end.

**Chapter 1 – The Stranger, the Life Exchanger**

A strange man popped into town. Literally, the pop echoed in the small southwestern English town as the stranger emerged out of nothingness.

Night's darkness aged as the tall outsider began to walk along the town's cobblestoned streets. If anyone had been out this late – and happened to be sober – they would certainly have done a double take when they noticed him.

To begin with, the manner in which he walked was awkward. It was not exactly a limp, although the man did carry a staff. His legs just appeared to move as if they were too long for the rest of him. One might have thought the term "gumpy" to be appropriate. He had the gait of a teenage boy who had just undergone a growth spurt and was trying to get used to his own body. Despite the appearance of his stride, however, the man was no teenager.

The second thing that would have brought attention to this man was the way he was dressed. Any dignified person would find his "costume" strange. After all, Halloween was months away. Nevertheless, it was not uncommon in this town to see such attire among a _certain_ segment of the population.

For the magical residents of Godric's Hollow it was commonplace to wear robes and cloaks. However, even wizards and witches would have found this stranger's wardrobe odd, if not downright eccentric. Thick gray wool was not exactly fashionable, particularly when it was worn and tattered. Nor was it exactly practical, especially for such a warm night in May.

The tall ash staff was a bit much, as well.

Upon reaching the square in the center of the village, the man paused to gaze at a statue. As he approached, it transformed from a war memorial into a representation of a young couple holding a baby.

His forehead compressed as if he was in deep thought for a moment, but then he immediately began shuffling forward again. When he turned around to look at the statue once more, he saw it had returned to the form of the war memorial.

As he passed a pub and then a church, it was clear that the man knew exactly where he was going. He did not hesitate as he proceeded to walk behind the church and towards a kissing gate that led to a cemetery.

The man moved through the entryway as clumsily as he had walked down the street. After pulling his robes free from being caught in the self-closing gate, he looked around in humiliation, but the entire area was dark and silent. His awkward expression was fleeting as it returned to one of a man on a mission. If someone had been watching, they may have thought it a poor attempt to hide his embarrassment.

Once past the gate, the man walked purposefully, peering from grave to grave.

Finally coming upon the one he wanted, he quietly read the tombstone's inscription to himself, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." His face went through a series of rapidly changing expressions, through uncertainty and more embarrassment until it finally settled on resolve.

The man had been compulsively rubbing his right hand, but he suddenly stopped. After setting down his staff, he lifted up a fist upon which moonlight glinted off a golden ring beset with a black stone.

Slowly, the stranger took off the heavy ring. Closing his eyes, he turned it over in his hands three times.

Suddenly, wisps of vapor appeared before him. The mist swirled as it formed into the shadows of a man and a woman. They were not exactly ghostly, but they did not look quite alive either.

The man was tall and thin with disheveled black hair and glasses. His arm was around a very pretty woman with long red hair and striking green eyes. As the image became clearer and their facial expressions became less distorted, it was obvious that these two people were incredibly puzzled and bemused.

"I suppose you're going to tell us what this is all about," said James Potter.

James's wife Lily blinked up at him and then looked back at the stranger.

The stranger took a clumsy step forward revealing large blue eyes, a youthful face, and short wavy brown hair. He stuttered, "My… my name is Ekem Egnezzem. I have come to ask for your help."

While the stranger had been speaking, Lily noticed him slide a ring on his right index finger. She recognized the black stone immediately. She pondered this for a moment. Yes, she remembered that stone, in fact she remembered a great deal of events that occurred while she was dead. She was dead! It all came flooding back: she had died protecting her son Harry and somehow she knew everything Harry had been through while she was gone. She knew everything, including everything about that stone. There was only one thing she did not know.

"Where did you get that stone?" Lily blurted out.

Ekem had been staring at James, but he suddenly snapped back into reality at hearing this question. "Uh… it was given to me… as part of my quest."

James squinted. "What sort of quest? And what do you need us for? We're dead after all." At that, Lily quickly looked up at James, apparently shocked that he had said they were dead out loud.

"That I cannot answer right now, but I promise that I will in due time," Ekem said almost as if he was trying to convince himself. "What I can say is that if you join me on this quest, you will help countless people."

"Countless people, eh? And why exactly are we supposed to buy this?" James said, frustrated.

Ekem took a breath. "Because I'm not forcing you to do anything. If you choose not to trust me, you will simply return to your final resting place." He paused. "However, if you come with me, you can help to overcome an evil far more powerful than the Dark Lord ever was. Not only will you protect the innocent, but you will live up to the wonderful perception that your son has of you." Even he was surprised at how eloquent he sounded, especially after such an awkward start.

"What exactly do we have left to prove?" said Lily.

"Nothing at all, but your son believes, and rightfully so, that you two are courageous and willing to sacrifice for others. Your son would never expect you to turn away from those in need."

At this, James and Lily both turned towards each other as if thinking by hive mind. Lily abruptly looked back at Ekem and shouted, "But we're dead!"

"And, like I have said, that is how you will remain if you wish. But… if you choose to help me – on my quest, I mean – then you will regain life."

"And we can be with our son?" Lily blurted out hopefully.

"I am afraid not. In fact, we will be going to another time and place entirely."

Lily looked hurt, but James looked puzzled. "You mean to say that we are going to another dimension?"

Ekem nodded.

"Why exactly would we want to go to another dimension and risk our…" – he paused in disbelief – "_lives_… for people we don't even know?"

"Because that is exactly what Harry would do and that's exactly what he would expect from his parents as well."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Well, yes, perhaps, if he knew about it! On the other hand, he just might be royally pissed that some creep is disturbing his parents' graves."

James had been shaking his head in several short rapid motions since Ekem's last comment. "So, the three of us," he gestured between them all, "we are supposed to take on someone more powerful than Voldemort."

Ekem smiled for the first time since their encounter. "Actually, I hope to convince all those closest to Harry to join us. Those who have died, of course."

James looked up with a grin. "Like Sirius and Remus?"

Ekem hesitated and then nodded. "Precisely."

James considered a reunion with the Marauders with an almost devious smile, he thought about his son, and he looked at Lily. She looked back at him knowingly and lightheartedly said, "I guess there will always be time to 'rest in peace' later."

They turned to Ekem who gathered up his staff. Waving it like a giant wand in his right hand, a flash of light appeared and engulfed James and Lily before vanishing into the darkness.

Ekem let his staff slide down within his grasp until the end hit the ground with a quiet thud. Clutching the staff against his body with both hands, he Disapparated.

* * *

There were ten others Ekem would recruit to help him in his quest. He knew beforehand that some would be easier to convince than others, but he was hopeful. 

After James and Lily, Cedric Diggory was easy to convince. An exemplary Hufflepuff, Cedric was loyal and a hard worker.

After Apparating to the Diggory family tomb and using the Resurrection Stone in his ring, Ekem told Cedric that this was a choice between "what is right and what is easy." Recognizing these as the exact words Dumbledore had used to eulogize him, Cedric knew he could not say no.

What followed was the recruitment of Sirius Black. Having spent twelve years in Azkaban, Sirius had a difficult time trusting a stranger, especially one that had unexplainably came into possession of a powerful magical ring. However, once Sirius thought about how the Marauders would be reunited, the light in his previously dark face could not be contained.

Sirius exclaimed with delight, "I spent twelve years in a prison surrounded by those evil soul-sucking Dementors, another two years on the run, a year alone in a house I hate with a house-elf I despise, and then the one time I got to go out and do something worthwhile my witch of a cousin kills me!" The nodding of his head became progressively more rapid. "Now you offer me the chance to break the monotony of death with long lost friends. I heartily accept!"

After a few successes, Ekem's next stop proved to be more difficult than he anticipated.

Arriving by Apparition near the lake at Hogwarts, Ekem had to be careful not to bring any attention to himself. After all, Harry Potter had only defeated the Dark Lord just hours before at this very school. The noise from within the castle walls told Ekem that the victory celebration had yet to cease.

Ekem set aside his staff as he came upon a marble tomb. Before taking off his new ring, he went over what he would say in his mind. After several moments' reflection, he took off the ring and turned it over in his hands three times.

The shadow of an old man draped in velvet with a long white beard and half-moon spectacles gradually appeared before him.

Ekem opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, the old man said in a very calm yet firm voice, "If you mean to ask if I will simply abandon my last great adventure and go off with you, you are barking up the wrong Whomping Willow, young man."

Ekem's mind raced with thoughts, something about a higher purpose and doing what is right.

The old wizard preemptively countered, "I chose the way I would die and not many men can say that. I accepted my own fate and welcomed it. You will not take that away from me."

After gulping, Ekem spoke. "You are a great wizard. No one would question that you have done your part to defeat evil and promote good. You have without argument done more than any other to set in motion the defeat of the Dark Lord. However, I must throw your own words back at you: 'It is our choices that show what we truly are.'"

Ekem could not tell if what he saw in the old wizard's blue eyes was a glint of annoyance or enjoyment.

After a moment the old man said, "If you're going to quote me, I might as well quote me too: 'Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them.'" He paused and took a deep breath. "I am at peace, everything is as it should be and yet, for as clever a man as I am, I'm about to make a very dim-witted _choice_."

The wise old wizard hinted at Ekem's staff, which Ekem hastily retrieved.

With that the two men grinned at each other and, in a flash, the old wizard was gone.

* * *

The recruitment of the always wise Albus Dumbledore stood in stark contrast to that of the always vigilant Alastor Moody. In fact, the grizzled warrior was ready to leave before his form fully appeared. He was like a child all packed and ready to go on holiday to an amusement park. To Moody, defeating evil was like a carnival game. However, he always played with utmost seriousness. 

Moody's willingness to leave with a complete stranger was quite out of character, Ekem thought. The man was known for his paranoia and Ekem had expected that he would need a great deal of convincing. Nevertheless, Moody came without any protest and Ekem was not going to argue about that.

Following the recruitment of the burly, came the recruitment of the barely three feet tall. It would be the first non-Human in the group, yet someone still very close to Harry Potter.

When Dobby appeared, Ekem had to contain a laugh at the mismatched clothing that the house-elf was wearing.

Dobby looked Ekem up and down. "Dobby knows what you want. I has seen who you are, sir."

Ekem looked down and swallowed. Then his eyes followed the ground to a large white stone and he read aloud, "Here lies Dobby, a free elf." He looked back at Dobby. "You went from slavery to free service because of Harry Potter. Will you now freely serve in his honor?"

Dobby's large green eyes looked up at Ekem. "Dobby feels unsure sir, but Dobby joins you. He thinks it what Harry Potter would do."

After Dobby, Ekem found himself rather nervous about the next ghostly meeting he would have. He was compulsively rubbing his right hand and both his hands began to tremble as he took off the ring. Turning the ring over three times in his hands, a dark mist began to swirl until it took the form of a black-robed man with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and eyes like dark empty tunnels.

The looming shadow of Severus Snape said nothing, but stood waiting with his hands interlocked and his eyes affixed on Ekem.

Ekem could hardly stand the silence, but he seemed afraid to speak.

Snape stared unflinchingly as if to say, "Well?" but he only stood there in silence.

Finally, Ekem stuttered, "I would very much like you to… uh… join me on a quest. I…"

"Let's be off then," Snape said curtly.

Ekem's jaw dropped and he just stared in awe. He had expected this to be far more difficult and far more humiliating. Yet here Snape was, choosing to help him without a single argument.

Snape breathed heavily in annoyance, bent over to pick up Ekem's staff and handed it to him forcefully. "I think you'll be needing that."

Ekem looked down at the staff as it was thrust towards him.

"Oh, take your time, I'm sure your quest can wait," Snape said in a successful attempt to belittle the prey before him.

Ekem fumbled with his staff before finally getting a grip on both it and his emotions.

"You better hurry up before I decide I'd rather not go on a quest with someone this incompetent."

With a wave of the staff, Snape, who was now shaking his head in disgust, disappeared in a flash leaving Ekem to sigh to himself in relief.

* * *

As far as recruitment went, Ekem was over the hump. Only a few more stops now. 

If Ekem had thought Moody was like an excitable child, it was only because he had not met Colin Creevey yet. The mousy boy could hardly contain his excitement at what Ekem told him.

From Colin's body, Ekem only had to move a few feet in the Great Hall of Hogwarts to find the next person he was looking for.

After using the Resurrection Stone this time, a young man with flaming red hair and freckles appeared. Ekem expected this much from a Weasley. What he did not expect, however, was the glum look on Fred Weasley's face.

"Do you know why I've come?" asked Ekem solemnly.

Fred nodded slowly.

Ekem continued, "Have you made a decision?"

"What good will it do if I go with you… what can _I_ do?"

"You will be a great help. We need good, trustworthy people. You bring a lot of skill and sense to the table. Besides, who else could boost morale better than you and your… tricks?" Ekem said as he forced an uneasy smile.

"You've come to the wrong place for that. What about _my_ morale?"

The silence that ensued told Ekem that this may be the first potential recruit he would lose. "I cannot begin to understand what it is like to lose your life so young. But you must know that Cedric and Colin – both of whom were younger than you when they lost their lives – have decided to join this quest."

Fred looked up. "This isn't about me! I'm not the type to sit around pitying myself. This is about my family. The looks on their faces when that wall exploded on me! They… they were devastated. My brothers… George." As he trailed off, the shadows of tears rolled down his ghostly cheek.

Ekem was deeply struck by this, "You grieve not for yourself, but for those left behind?"

"At this very moment, my brother George is distraught… and alone."

A longer silence ensued.

Fred straightened up quickly, "You need to take me to him."

"To your brother?"

He responded rapidly, "Yes, let me see him… and the rest of my family… and, afterwards, I'll go with you."

Ekem shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I just can't do that."

Fred reverted to anger. "You can't… or you won't?"

"I am sorry."

"Then let me be."

Just then, a nearby door creaked open.

Ekem leapt with fright. The way he stumbled away to hide almost made Fred laugh. Almost.

To resurrect Fred and Colin, Ekem had come to the Great Hall, where their bodies had been lain only hours before. The victory celebration had long died out and everyone was asleep, allowing Ekem to sneak into the castle and this room unnoticed. Now it seemed that someone had not been asleep after all.

As Ekem darted behind a table, Fred's deathly shadow vanished. A short, plump woman with red hair walked and then broke into a stumbling run across the room. Apparently, she had been too distraught to notice Ekem or the shadow to which he had been talking when she came in.

Kneeling on the floor, the woman hoisted Fred's limp body into her arms. "My boy, my boy," she cried. "My brave boy." Molly Weasley rocked her son's lifeless body, her worst fears realized.

When the door to the Great Hall opened once again neither Molly nor Ekem noticed. Molly was so wrapped up in her emotions and Ekem was entranced by those emotions. The mirror image of Fred walked towards Molly, but this was no shadow. George, Fred's twin, laid one hand on his mother's shoulder.

Molly looked back and forth between her two sons, one living and the other lifeless. "You two look so different now."

"That's 'cause Fred's got both his ears, Mum," said George with a quiet, restrained type of humor.

She tried to smile, but her cheeks barely rose. "He's just so fragile."

"Uh… Mum, Fred was a Beater. We aren't a bunch of poofs, you know. In fact, Fred was probably one of the toughest Hogwarts Beaters in centuries. I should know; I used to have to practice with him. Took a lot of bruises from my brother, I did." George knelt down beside his mother and his voice became quieter and more serious, "I'm really going to miss him."

Molly had been staring blankly at her dead son. "I was always so hard on you boys…"

George stared at his mother in disbelief. "You were the best mother anyone could hope for. Fred and I always said so."

"We always did have a special relationship, you boys and I. It was always sort of fun trying to catch you in the act." She tried to grin again.

"It was always sort of fun trying not to get caught."

"It sometimes felt like I had my brothers back again when I was with you two. They had the same brand of mischievous behavior, Fabian and Gideon. You know, that's why I named you Fred and George… F and G, like them."

"I know, Mum, you've told us a hundred times." George paused feeling he needed to be more comforting at this moment. "The three of them have each other now, you know. Heroes, the lot of them. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Fred is setting off to impress some angelic totty with stories of his 'brave sacrifice at the Battle of Hogwarts.'" George said this last part in a deep, macho voice and with his chest puffed up. He continued more seriously, "He died a hero's death, Mum, and I don't think he'd have it any other way."

After a few moments, the two of them stood up. Mother and son hugged each other before giving Fred one last look and walking out of the Great Hall together.

Ekem waited until the door closed behind them and slowly walked towards Fred's body. He was still in awe of everything he had just overheard. He was even a little ashamed. Taking a deep breath, he used the Resurrection Stone to summon Fred once again.

The image of Fred was quite different than before. His expression had changed. "I'm ready now," he spoke softly.

Ekem nodded, apparently a silent understanding had fallen between the two of them. With that, he staggered over to where he had been hiding and clumsily fumbled with his staff as he picked it up.

Fred's voice was quite different as he said, "Listen mate, I don't know how you're expecting to defeat all sorts of evil if you can barely stand on your own two feet."

His face turning red, Ekem resorted to rubbing his ring hand.

Fred displayed a mild smirk just before his ghost vanished.

As Ekem moved between the dead bodies in the Great Hall, he could not stop replaying what had just happened in his head. Of all the recruiting he was performing tonight, he had least expected that of Fred Weasley to be the most profound.

* * *

About halfway between where Fred's body lay and the doors, Ekem stopped. Before him lay two bodies, those of a man and woman. The golden wedding bands on each of their left ring fingers gleamed with the reflection of the stars from the enchanted ceiling above. 

Taking off his own ring one last time for the night, Ekem used the power of the Resurrection Stone to bring forth the spirits of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin. The pretty woman's pink hair and youth stood in stark contrast to the man's graying brown hair.

Lupin spoke first in a hoarse voice, "Well, I suppose we don't get to see Teddy before we leave." He did not phrase this as a question, yet there was a glimmer of hope in the statement.

"I am truly sorry," said Ekem.

Tonks and Lupin nodded simultaneously. "So then, we join James, Sirius, and Lily now?" said Lupin as Tonks looked up at her husband who sounded almost like a boy at that moment.

Ekem nodded. "We do."

As Ekem lifted up his staff, Tonks slid her hand into Lupin's and the two of them vanished.

_-- _

_A/N: This is my first fanfic. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the crossover genre because explaining how the actual crossover occurs is often too strange for words. You may already have that same feeling about this story, but really the crossover portion is less important than the actual story. Whether you are a Harry Potter fan and/or a Tolkien fan, please take the time to continue reading. I promise you will not regret it in the end and, hopefully, you'll enjoy it on the way._

_Many thank you's to Ashwinder for her beta help._

_I hope to see all your frustrations when I read the reviews. : )_

_Next Chapter: Snape the Sour Grape_


	2. Snape the Sour Grape

**Chapter 2** **– Snape the Sour Grape**

Severus Snape emerged out of the light that had only just engulfed him. The travel occurred in what seemed like an instant. It was nothing like he had ever experienced before, not like Apparition or Floo Powder or Portkeys. He was in one place one moment and another, the next, without any of the unpleasant physical effects he was used to with such travel.

Besides and despite the darkness, the first thing he noticed was that his body no longer took the form of a shadow. He was flesh and blood, adorned in his signature black robes once again. Reaching for his face, Snape felt the large hooked nose he had never quite grown into and then he felt his hair. It was as greasy as ever.

He could almost smile at the idea of his life renewed, but then, his eyes caught those surrounding him as their wands lit up one by one. There were twelve in all. Each seemed to have arrived in the same instant as he and most had illuminated their wands, adding to the light provided by the stars.

At the sound of laughter, he lurched back. Two men were embracing each other. He would have known the back of James Potter's head anywhere, his hair sticking up just as annoyingly as Harry's always had in his classroom.

As James proceeded from Sirius to Lupin, it allowed Snape to finally catch a glimpse of the reason he had come here so willingly.

Her sparkling green eyes were just as beautiful as he remembered. Suddenly he was a child again secretly gazing at her, wondering how he would tell her that she was a witch and he a wizard. Then another flashback brought him to his very last memory in life: asking Harry to show him those emerald eyes one last time… his dying wish.

Suddenly Lily returned his gaze. Snape's eyes darted away and he tried to appear as if he was just viewing his surroundings nonchalantly. It was a natural reflex that most people have when they are caught staring, but suddenly Snape found himself genuinely entranced by the landscape before him.

Despite the darkness of night, their surroundings were made visible by the unusual brightness of the stars. It became clear that they were in a valley, with a great river running alongside a mountain range for as far as the eye could see in either direction. They appeared to be in a clearing in a wooded area between the mountains and the river. Looking across the wide river, Snape saw only forest. In the opposite direction, he noticed a faint golden light emanating from far beyond the towering mountains. It was not like any sunset or sunrise he had ever seen. In fact, he could not find the sun or moon at all.

A firm hand on his shoulder brought Snape back to reality. The blue eyes of Dumbledore looked at him with a sense of sympathy behind them. He did not need the old man's pity. Dumbledore's expression changed as if he had read Snape's mind, but it was still one of concern.

Snape looked over Dumbledore's shoulder at the reunion of old friends. Lupin was introducing his wife, Tonks, to his friends James and Lily. Sirius stood by with a massive smile on his face, but as his eyes diverted to Snape his smile changed to a smirk. Sirius whispered something in James's ear, but Snape looked away before giving James the satisfaction of catching his eye.

He looked back at Dumbledore who nodded slowly and opened his mouth to say something when Mad-Eye Moody walked over to the pair. Snape had to do a double take when he realized that Moody had two perfectly normal brown eyes. Along with the return of his once absent eye, Moody had reacquired a missing chunk of his nose and had no signs of facial scarring. He appeared almost twenty years younger than when Snape had last seen him… that fateful night when the famous Auror was killed.

Moody laughed heartily at the expression of awe on both Snape's and even Dumbledore's face. He proceeded to jump into the air and click his heels together displaying the fact that he no longer required a prosthetic leg.

Snape closed his gaping mouth and his face returned to its typical expressionless quality, but there was still a hint of subtle perplexity.

Dumbledore laughed and hugged his old friend as Snape looked on. "Good to see you got here in one piece," Dumbledore said with a wink.

Moody's smile faded slightly as he looked to Snape. "Severus, good to see you," he said extending his hand. Snape shook it and the three of them began to talk about nothing other than Harry Potter. Dumbledore and Moody did most of the talking, of course, with Snape making the occasional derisive comment.

* * *

There came to a point where the twelve-member group had seemed to finish their reunions and became very anxious. Cedric, Fred, Colin, and Dobby sat on the ground together looking at their surroundings. Even as James, Lily, Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks stood by talking, Snape could see that there was a quiet anticipation amid the group. 

He had remained with Dumbledore and Moody, stealing looks at Lily but not daring to go anywhere near her. He was becoming increasingly restless not only about her, but also the fact that their "host," Ekem, had failed to show himself since their arrival.

Oddly enough, it seemed no one had brought up Ekem in conversation, but Snape was certain it was on everyone's mind. Finally he looked at Dumbledore. "What are your thoughts on this Ekem character?"

Dumbledore furrowed his brow and took a breath. "I would say he seems well intentioned. I always like to give people the chance to act on their good intentions."

Snape shook his head slightly. "I am not so sure his intentions are as pure as you make them out to be."

"I like to believe that most people, when given the chance, will do the right thing. If they prove unworthy of my trust, they will no longer have it, but that will not prevent me from freely giving my trust to the next person who asks of it."

"But we cannot just blindly trust him. Trust must be earned," retorted Snape.

"And who has ever_earned_ your trust, Severus?" Dumbledore said in a friendly tone but with all seriousness behind it.

Snape glanced over at Lily, hoping that it was quick enough so that neither she nor her companions noticed.

He looked back at Dumbledore. "There is something untruthful about his demeanor, I can feel it."

"Well, at this point, we do not have any other choice but to trust him, do we?"

Moody jumped in, "Well, I trusted him when he said we'd be taking on some considerable evil, but he hasn't even bothered to turn up… nor has the evil."

"That's exactly why we shouldn't blindly trust him," said Snape glancing from Moody back to Dumbledore. "The man is shifty. He told us exactly what we wanted to hear."

A remote voice suddenly said, "So why then did you come, Snivellus?" The question startled Snape. Sirius had apparently overheard their conversation and thought nothing of butting in.

Suddenly Snape no longer felt like the looming Hogwarts professor he had been for seventeen years. No longer could he belittle and rebuke those he detested from a position of power. He was on the same level as the rest of them and he felt like he had when he was a student at Hogwarts. The memory of being laughed at as he continuously failed to mount a defiant broomstick came to mind.

Sirius's smirk grew to mammoth proportions. "Oh… I bet I know why…," he said as he turned his head towards Lily, who immediately began studying the ground.

Whether she looked away out of embarrassment for herself or for him, Snape did not know, but he did not want to give Sirius the satisfaction of causing two people to blush. He withheld all emotion from his face. It was a skill he had become quite adept at over the course of his life.

Just when it appeared that Sirius _and_ James were about to pounce, a noise from the woods made everyone come to a halt.

Snape had his wand in hand in an instant, listening and watching intently. There was a faint voice in the distance. It might have been Ekem's, talking to himself quietly.

Whoever was out there was starting to walk towards them, evident by the sound of snapping sticks under staggering feet. It was definitely Ekem, and apparently the daft moron had disturbed a bird's nest because the flapping of large wings could be heard, loud at first before fading into nothing.

When Ekem emerged from the forest and began to dust off his robes, Snape hesitantly lowered his wand. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed others doing the same, although not Dumbledore. It appeared that he had not even drawn his wand in the first place.

Everyone stood there in a silent, perturbed anticipation.

Ekem looked up at the group as if just noticing them. "So, I guess you all probably have some questions."

* * *

The now thirteen-member group had hastily conjured tents and a campfire surrounded by rather comfortable bench seating. Like the rest, Snape was very curious, but he doubted that this dolt of a wizard could answer any question to his satisfaction. 

It had become darker by now, the only light sources being the fire, the stars, and the faint silver light originating from far beyond the mountains. About half an hour ago soft silver light had begun to appear enmeshed in the golden light Snape had assumed earlier was the sun setting. Gradually the golden light waned as the silver light became enhanced. How peculiar, he had thought.

They were relatively settled now, sitting on the benches, all eyes on Ekem. Snape watched as the firelight reflected in the strange man's eyes. He could almost hear Ekem planning a speech in his mind.

Finally, Ekem stood up. He cleared his throat and looked around at each of them. "When I first embarked on my quest, I had not thought for a second that I would be able to convince all of you to help me. Of course, you twelve are no ordinary people. Each of you has risked your life in one way or another and each of you has faced death courageously."

Snape could not help but think the man's flattery was not genuine. However, he hoped to learn why they were brought here and so decided to keep quiet.

"But how did you get that stone?" Lily apparently did not feel the same way Snape did about keeping quiet. He had to admire her tenacity.

"Well…" Ekem stumbled over his words as the speech he'd intended was interrupted, "I… retrieved it from the Forbidden Forest outside of Hogwarts."

"But you told James and Lily that it was given to you!" Sirius yelled.

Lupin then added, "Yes, you did. You told them it was given to you as part of your quest." Lupin and Sirius stared at each other, apparently astounded at what each of them had just said.

As Snape thought about it, he too "remembered" Ekem telling James and Lily the exact same thing. How could he, though? He had not been there, after all. He… he had been dead.

In his confusion Snape looked at Dumbledore, who was sitting to his left, and wondered if he was just as confused as the rest of them. It was clear Dumbledore definitely did not have the answers, but his expression was less confused and more inquiring.

The noise level rose rapidly as people around the campfire began talking amongst themselves. Ekem tried to simmer them down repeatedly, but to no avail. Snape looked on with a smirk, enjoying the would-be leader's feeble attempts to gain control of the group.

Finally, from beside him, Dumbledore yelled, "Silence!"

Dumbledore's command brought the noise level back down to a minimum as Ekem looked simultaneously pleased and embarrassed. "All right, I know you all have a lot of questions and I want to answer them. I really do. I guess there is just nowhere else to start but at the beginning.

* * *

As Ekem continued to talk about the creation of the universe, Snape could not help but think he was listening to a children's story. He had no idea how the Valar, the angelic beings which Ekem was droning on about, had anything to do with why they were here. 

It was Colin who broke the monotony at last, "Wait a second, what is this Ill-oo-fatar?"

"_Iluvatar_?" Ekem said. "Iluvatar is the Elvish name for 'Allfather.' Iluvatar is God."

At the word "Elvish," Snape noticed that Dobby perked up, but Colin continued with a follow-up. "Okay, so God created the Valar and told them to create the world based on his heavenly music?"

Ekem nodded.

"And then Melkor, the most powerful… _Vala_?"

"Right," Ekem said.

"This Melkor bloke decided he wanted to destroy it all?"

"Not exactly. You see, Melkor was attracted to the worst parts of creation, like earthquakes, volcanoes, and things like that. He didn't want to destroy creation; he just wanted to make it over in his image. So his music corrupted that of the other Valar. He even corrupted some of the Maiar to serve him."

"Maiar?" It was becoming obvious that Colin was getting perturbed by Ekem's inability to adequately explain himself. Snape was just perturbed by Ekem's inability to talk about anything relevant.

"Sorry, yes, the Maiar were spirits of a lesser degree than the Valar. Seduced by Melkor's power, many of them became Balrogs, like demons. But don't worry, they've all but disappeared nowadays."

"Hold on a minute," yelled Sirius. "You mean to tell me that everything you're saying is true!"

"It sounds like a load of rubbish to me," Snape muttered under his breath.

"Well… yes," Ekem said in response to Sirius, clearly not having heard Snape.

Sirius laughed mildly. "And I suppose you just want us to take down this all-powerful Melkor then, is that it?"

"He's not exactly all-powerful, especially now. You see… when Melkor corrupted creation, he dispersed part of his magical being throughout the world. He tainted its very fabric, but in the process he also became weaker. This allowed the other Valar to capture him."

"Ah hah, so our job is done." said James mockingly.

Ekem's blushing did not lessen any the more he was insulted, it was more of a kindling effect. "Well, he escaped."

Sirius laughed, "Of course he did."

"He is _all_ powerful, Sirius," James instructed.

"No, listen," Ekem said pleadingly. "Melkor had already diminished his power greatly when he tainted creation, but he didn't stop there. When the Elves first appeared, Melkor captured some of them and began to corrupt them as well."

"Oh, you know how those Elves like it rough." Sirius's comment got a rouse out of James, Cedric, Colin, and even Fred, who teasingly slapped Dobby on the back. Even Lupin and Tonks laughed silently. Lily, however, gave her husband a death glare. Apparently, she wanted to hear what Ekem had to say uninterrupted.

"Let the man speak!" said Lily.

Although Snape was getting a bit tired of Ekem's nonsense, he liked nothing more than hearing Lily Evans put James Potter in his place.

"Anyways," Ekem said before clearing his throat again, "from the corruption of the Elves came an entirely new breed: Orcs. These miserable creatures were merely tainted imitations of Iluvatar's creations, lacking true souls, but dangerous nonetheless since they were bound by the bidding of their Dark Lord. However, once again, creating these creatures cost Melkor some of his power."

"So what happened?" asked Colin, genuinely interested. At this, Fred began to mock Colin behind his back to Cedric's delight.

"Well, this all took place in Middle-earth, where we are now, in fact," Ekem said while indicated their surroundings. "But when the Valar heard about the Orcs they asked the Elves to come join them in the continent of Aman, to the far west of here, where they would be protected. The Valar eventually returned to fight Melkor and after years of war, he was finally defeated, captured, and imprisoned. Until recently, that is."

Colin gasped. Fred clutched his heart and pretended to faint. Snape was surprised to see that the mischievous Weasley was back at it after having spent most of his time moping around since they arrived.

"After three ages of imprisonment, the Valar decided to release Melkor from the dark Halls of Mandos. I have been told that his chief servant, Sauron, has been secretly breeding Orcs in their fortress at Angband, awaiting his master's return. Melkor will most certainly try to meet up with his lieutenant and continue their dark work. Therefore, it is our duty to stop the Dark Lord at all costs."

"Hmm…." Lily's sound made everyone turn to look at her, a trend Snape was happy to fall in line with. "So… how did you get that stone?"

"I think what Miss Evans is trying to say is…"

Snape was interrupted by a disturbingly loud cough from James. "I think you meant to say 'Potter,' _Mrs._… Potter."

Ignoring his nemesis, Snape continued, "I think what _Lily_ is trying to say is… enough with the fairy-tales and tell us what the hell is going on here!"

Snape could tell Sirius wanted to comment on Snape's outburst but, for this moment only, they were on the same side. Sirius yelled, "Right! We want to know how you really got that stone. And how both Lupin and I remember you telling James and Lily about it when we weren't even there! And how Moody over there got a full body transplant." He turned to Moody lightheartedly. "You look great by the way." Turning back to goad Ekem he said, "Well…?"

"All right, all right," Ekem conceded. "If you would have just let me continue, I would have gotten there eventually…"

After remaining almost unsettlingly quiet, Dumbledore had apparently decided it was time for him to say something. "I think it would be most prudent if you put all of our minds to rest at this time, rather than later." No one, not even this ninny, could argue with Dumbledore.

Ekem took a deep breath. "As you all know, I brought you back from the dead. While it may be a bit fuzzy to remember right now, while you were dead you had a semi-omniscience of sorts." He stared blankly at the faces of bewilderment before him. "You have all heard people say that the dead live on through their loved ones. Well, that is exactly right. In death, you were able to share the experiences of those you loved while they were still living."

Snape realized that is why he had expected Ekem to come for him. He had seen Ekem through the experiences of Lily and later Dumbledore. These were the only people he actually cared about in this group. Come to think of it, they were the only people he cared about in _any_ group.

Ekem grinned as it became clear that everyone was grasping what he had just said.

"That is why I saw you talking to James and Lily, Sirius, and then Dumbledore before coming for Nymphadora and me?" Lupin said astutely.

Moody added, "And that's how I knew he was coming for me, because I had seen him talking to Dumbledore." He laughed. "You sure gave him hell, eh Dumbledore?" After Dumbledore chuckled, Moody continued. "But what about all this, then?" he said as he rapped on his leg with his knuckles.

"I thought that would have been more obvious." Ekem smiled smugly.

"Yeah, revel in your smug ignorance, you prat," Snape thought to himself.

Ekem continued, "Well, didn't you all notice Dumbledore's hand?"

Looking next to him, it appeared Dumbledore himself had not even noticed as he stared at his once charred hand in disbelief. Then the old wizard felt around on his face and gave his nose a squeeze. With a smile on his face, he whispered, "my old broken nose…."

Out of the corner of his eye, Snape could see Dobby similarly feeling around on his chest.

Snape then looked down at his own left forearm, noticing no remnants of the Dark Mark which had once lain their.

"I know it's a bit fuzzy," Ekem said, "but it will all come back to you."

Sirius laughed. "And Lupin, you old werewolf, you aren't so haggard anymore, are you?"

"Look who's talking, Sirius, it looks like dying was the best thing that could have happened to you," James joked.

As James and Sirius laughed, Lupin did not. "Ekem? If everyone has been healed of their afflictions… does that mean… does that mean I am no longer a werewolf?"

The crowd hushed.

Ekem frowned sympathetically, "No, I am sorry. It appears that the werewolf condition, being magical, almost seems to bind one's soul. Even death can't separate it."

Lupin nodded slowly as his head gradually dropped. Tonks put her arm around him as James patted him on the back consolingly.

"I must tell you, though." Ekem's face suddenly turned to a grin. "You will not have to worry about turning into a werewolf anytime soon."

Lupin looked up in surprise.

"Haven't you noticed the sky? In this world… there _is_ no moon."

* * *

Ekem had explained how there was neither sun nor moon over Middle-earth. Instead, the Valar had created the Two Trees of Valinor on the continent of Aman, to the far west. Laurelin, the first tree, gave off golden light half the time and the Telperion, the second, gave off silver light the other half of the time. 

Snape realized that what he had seen earlier at "dusk" was actually the light of Laurelin waning as Telperion grew brighter. Since the western lights had come from beyond the mountains, he could use it to work out his bearings. Knowing now that Aman was in the west, he extrapolated that the mountains were also to the west and ran north-south, while the river was to their east running north-south as well.

He had always been interested in astronomy. It was a hobby he had picked up to escape from his parents' constant bickering. It was certainly better than sitting alone in his bedroom shooting down flies with his wand. Right now, however, there were more pressing matters than the stars and the Two Trees.

Snape cleared his throat, "I think it's time you finally answered Lily's question. I, for one, have had enough of your evasions."

Would Lily notice how he was standing up for her?

Ekem's eyes widened. "The stone was given to me."

"First you say it was given to you, then you say you found it in the Forbidden Forest, and now you're back to your original story. How do you expect us to believe anything you say?" Lily retorted.

Us….

"Enough of your doubletalk," Snape said to Ekem. Turning to Dumbledore and Moody he continued, "I knew he was a liar from the beginning."

Even with nothing but the light of the stars, it was apparent that Ekem's face had turned red. Embarrassment gave way to anger. "I did not lie! The location of the stone was _given_ to me and I _found_ it in the Forbidden Forest."

Lily looked beautiful when she was deep in thought. Snape flashed back to similar expressions while they were in Potions class together. He had always worked so hard in that class, trying his best to impress her. She was his muse when it came to creative ideas for potions and incantations… ideas he had jotted down in his potions books… a book that her son would later find… her son….

"Harry!" Snape shouted as everyone turned in surprise. "Only Harry knew about that! He dropped the stone in the forest and said he hoped no one would ever find it again. He only told Dumbledore's portrait about it in the headmaster's office. No one could have told you where it was."

Ekem looked like he was choosing his words carefully, but before he could respond Sirius jumped in. "Wait just one moment." He was looking directly at Snape. "How could _you_ know all that about Harry? You were dead at the time. Unless…." Suddenly a realization swept over the group, as if the answer occurred to them all simultaneously.

Snape looked in horror from face to face until he came to that of Lily. She had never looked at him so sweetly, not even before that dreadful incident in school when he called her a "Mudblood." Her knowing look sent shocks through his system as his heartbeat quickened.

"Yes… well…." Ekem, for once, was trying to get the conversation back on the topic of the stone. "It was Iluvatar."

"What?!" said almost the entire group in unison as Snape's heart tried to return to normal.

"It was Iluvatar who gave me this quest and told me where to find the stone."

Fred cleared his throat. "Wait a second, mate… you mean to tell me that _God_ chose you – _you_ – to be his champion… in the fight against Melkor… and his army of darkness?"

"Well…."

Fred just laughed. "I knew your story was a bit dodgy, but _you_? Captain Twitchy?" At that, Cedric started laughing, then Sirius and James. Tonks tried to hold back a giggle, as well as Colin. Even Dumbledore's chest was heaving from a restrained laughter. Moody held nothing back.

Snape did not laugh and, as he looked across the fire, he saw that Lily was not laughing either. Instead, she just stared at him curiously.

_-- _

_A/N: Thank you for reading my first fanfic. Please review; both good and bad are welcomed._

_Next Chapter: Dobby Gets a Hobby_


	3. Dobby Gets a Hobby

_A/N: Thanks to Ashwinder for helping me up to this point and thanks to all of you whose curiosities keep you reading. There are surprises in store for you. Please review!_

**Chapter 3 – Dobby Gets a Hobby**

Dobby sat quietly listening to the wizards talking. He was very excited to meet the parents of Harry Potter, but he wished he could spend more time with them. Instead, he had to sit there by the fire while the rest of them either teased one another or fought.

Dobby did not like the fighting. A lot of the trouble, he thought, came from the dark, greasy-haired one. That one kept trying to convince the others not to trust the twitchy, nervous one. He also was very nasty and condescending to the friends of the parents of Harry Potter. Dobby noticed that the only one he was not mean to was the mother of Harry Potter. Dobby thought he must really like her, because he seemed very jealous of the father of Harry Potter.

Dobby wished Harry Potter was there with them, but that would mean Harry Potter was dead, so Dobby was happy that Harry Potter was not there.

Dobby decided to keep listening to the wizards argue.

The more talkative friend of the parents of Harry Potter was speaking. "Seriously, you need to start answering questions now. Why us and why the night of Voldemort's defeat? And why did you seek out our corpses? When Harry used the stone he wasn't anywhere near our graves. And when he used it, only our ghosts were summoned. So how did you restore our lives?"

The nervous one looked like he was about to attempt an answer, but the talkative one added, "By the way, I expect you to say something more than just 'God told me.'"

"I already answered the first part, didn't I?" The nervous one looked affronted – and nervous – as he rubbed his hand and stuttered, "It was Courage. I sought out the most courageous at the time of utmost courage: the Dark Lord's defeat. As for the rest, what can I say? I did what Iluvatar _told me_ to do."

"Rubbish," said the burly one.

The nervous one glanced quickly at the burly one and continued his story more rushed than before. "I was instructed to take the staff and the stone to your gravesites. I used the stone to talk to your ghosts and then, after you all agreed, I used the staff and stone together to restore your lives. Giving your lives back meant I had to go to your graves; it required the resurrection of both body and soul."

The twinless Wheezy suddenly stirred. "You mean to tell me that, right now, my family is trying to figure out where my body went off to?!"

"No, no," assured the nervous one, "don't you remember your funeral?"

The twinless Wheezy's eyes widened. Apparently, he had remembered.

"Us too. I remember me mum holding Teddy at our funeral," the pink-haired one said indicating herself and the quiet friend of the parents of Harry Potter. Both of them suddenly had heartrending expressions.

"Yes," said the nervous one, "I waited until after your funerals before resurrecting those who died at the Battle of Hogwarts. And, as for Dumbledore," he said as he turned to the man, "I waited until Harry returned the Elder Wand to your tomb."

Dobby liked Dumbledore. He had given Dobby a job after Harry Potter had freed him, but he did not like the way Dumbledore looked at the nervous one just now. He decided he must be imagining things. Dumbledore was a nice wizard. Harry Potter always said so.

"Wait," said the quiet friend of the parents of Harry Potter as he entered into the conversation, "if you resurrected us all at different times, then how is it that we all arrived here at precisely the same moment?"

"I sent you all back at the same time."

"Back?"

"Yes, like a Time-Turner."

"A Time-Turner?!" The quiet friend of the parents of Harry Potter looked upset as did most others.

"_Like_ a Time-Turner. I told you, this is another dimension, with its own space and time. So, I was able to send you off at different times and you could still all arrive here in the same instant."

The quiet friend of the parents of Harry Potter did not look satisfied. "And if we are killed in this world…?"

"Your bodies return to their graves as if nothing ever happened."

Dobby hoped that the wizards' silence meant they were done arguing and were ready to go to sleep.

Dumbledore had looked like he had been thinking very hard for some time and then spoke up. "I think this is all a lot to take in for one night. I'm sure you have more to tell us, Ekem, but the burden of living has really exhausted me. I shall go to my tent now. Good night, my friends."

Dobby was happy to see everyone get up and follow Dumbledore to the tents.

* * *

Dobby awoke early the next morning in a bed far more comfortable than he was accustomed to. He glanced at Colin Creevey sleeping in the other bed in their room. Dobby liked Colin Creevey. He was as excited about meeting the parents of Harry Potter as Dobby was. They had talked about their experiences with Harry Potter for a long time before they fell asleep the night before. 

Yesterday, the group had put up three small tents. Each was made larger on the inside with an Undetectable Extension Charm. Dobby was assigned to the "kids' tent." He thought it odd when the twinless Wheezy, the handsome boy, and Colin Creevey had grumbled at being called kids. Dobby was much older than the three of them, but he was not insulted to be put in the kids' tent. Dobby was used to far worse than that.

As Dobby walked outside, he was not surprised to find the deserted campfire. Dobby always wondered why wizards slept so long; three or four hours were more than enough. Although he was not sure, he believed that was as long as he had slept.

Dobby decided to make breakfast for when the wizards awoke. He started a new fire from the previous night's embers and then conjured a grill, pots, and pans. Next, Dobby summoned water, which whizzed from the river and filled the pot in his hand. He placed the pot on the grill, which he had put over the flames of the fire. Next, he summoned oats, grains, eggs, and what looked like hazelnuts. All flew through the forest from different directions to form neat piles at his feet.

After a short time, Dobby had prepared about five dozen "hazelnut" pancakes from scratch. That is when he noticed three people come out of the woods.

Dobby had thought everyone was asleep. He knew he was wrong as the nervous one, the burly one, and the greasy-haired one walked towards him. The nervous one walked like a clumsy fawn, Dobby thought.

Dobby was especially surprised to see the nervous one and the greasy-haired one had been talking together. He was not surprised that neither was smiling.

"That smells delicious, Dobby," said the burly one with a laugh.

"Dobby makes them for you sirs and shall serve the others when they is woken up." He snapped his fingers and brown ooze flew into his frying pan from the woods. He waved his hand over the pan and instantly the sap gave off a cloud of steam. "Syrup for you, sirs?"

"Oh, thank you Dobby," said the burly one blithely.

"Thank you," said the greasy-haired one gruffly.

"Thanks," said the nervous one nervously.

* * *

It was some time before the others came out from the tents. 

Dobby was happy to see that the parents of Harry Potter came out first. However, _they_ did not look happy once they saw the greasy-haired one. The father of Harry Potter whispered something in the mother of Harry Potter's ear. She shook her head slowly and looked down as they continued to walk towards Dobby.

"Dobby makes pancakes for the parents of Harry Potter."

The beautiful mother of Harry Potter smiled and said, "Oh, thank you Dobby, but please call us Lily and James."

After sitting down with their pancakes and eating a few bites, Dobby rushed over to them. "Lily and James Potter is liking Dobby's pancakes?"

"They're delicious Dobby, best meal I've had in a long… in a very long time," said James Potter with a grin.

"Come sit with us, Dobby," said Lily Potter.

"Lily Potter thinks Dobby worthy to join the parents of Harry Potter?"

"Of course, none are more worthy! After all, you died saving our Harry, didn't you?"

"Dobby is humbled by Lily Potter's words, but Dobby is not brave like Harry Potter."

"Nonsense," said James Potter, "you gave your life to save others, how many can say that? How many free elves can say they've saved a human's life let alone as many as you have?"

Lily Potter continued, "You looked after him for many years, Dobby. You risked punishment from the Malfoys when you warned him his second year at Hogwarts and you took another risk when you stole Gillyweed from Severus over there."

"Shh, shh, Lily Potter, do not let the greasy-haired one hear you. He would have Dobby's neck."

James Potter laughed. "Don't worry, Dobby. No one's going to hurt you while we're around, especially not the '_greasy-haired one_.'"

"Dobby understands now why Harry Potter is so great. Such an honor it is to meet his parents."

Dobby was happy that Lily and James Potter were so nice to him. He now felt comfortable enough to ask them his questions, of which he had about five hundred. Literally. He had counted about one hundred of them last night before bed and had added about four hundred more while making breakfast.

"Lily and James Potter?"

"Yes, Dobby?"

"Dobby would be most pleased to know the types of socks you is wearing on the day of the birth of Harry Potter."

* * *

Dobby had not asked nearly enough questions when the friends of Lily and James Potter came out from their tent. Lily and James Potter looked more than happy – if not relieved – to see them. Dobby served them pancakes and then sat with Colin Creevey listening to their conversation in awe. 

Everyone else had come out by then and Dobby was happy that they all seemed to enjoy his breakfast. He was even happier to be considered a friend of Lily and James Potter.

After only three hours of Dobby and Colin Creevey taking turns telling stories about Harry Potter, Dobby noticed Lily and James Potter had lost interest. Dobby supposed they had experienced all of those stories through Harry himself and did not need to hear them again. That must have been the reason they looked bored, Dobby thought.

"Blimey, are you guys ever going to stop talking about Harry?" the twinless Wheezy said with his handsome sidekick laughing behind him.

Dobby was perplexed, so hesitantly asked, "You is not liking Harry Potter?"

"No, no, Dobby, we all love Harry… he was a good wizard… and a great friend… there'd likely be a lot more of us here if it weren't for him… but honestly… I think everyone's had enough stories from… the 'I Heart Harry Potter Fanclub.'"

At that, nearly everyone exploded in laughter. Looking around, Dobby did not understand what was so funny. Nevertheless, Dobby supposed it best to stop talking so much about Harry Potter even if he _was_ the most interesting topic of conversation.

Colin Creevey did not seem very happy. "Come on Dobby, let's get out of here."

Dobby followed obediently, but not because he had to. He was a free elf, after all.

As the two of them got to the woods, Dobby could hear the twinless Wheezy yell, "I bagsie the last pancakes!"

"Stupid git," Colin Creevey muttered, shaking his head in disgust.

"Colin Creevey is not liking the Wheezy?"

Colin Creevey kept walking, angling towards the river. "He is just so childish. Always been that way. I thought it would be better, considering the circumstances, but he's the same as he's always been. Do you hear how he talks? He can't even speak in fluent sentences."

They continued upriver a bit, losing track of time as they talked more about the Wheezy and then Harry Potter. Suddenly, Dobby halted after seeing a stone fly through the air into the water up ahead. It was followed by another stone and then another.

"Did you see that?" asked Colin Creevey excitedly as he began hurrying forward to see what the disturbance was.

"Colin Creevey must not go look! Colin Creevey does not know what dangers lay ahead."

"Dobby, shh!"

They crept forward and peered from behind a bush.

"It's a girl, Dobby."

And so it was. The pretty golden-haired girl wore a white shift dress with a forest green bodice and skirt. Besides the fact that she was tossing stones into the river, Dobby noticed two strange qualities about her: her round face was covered in tears and it contained slightly pointed ears that poked through her hair.

Dobby's instincts told him to leave, but then he thought, "What would Harry Potter do?"

"Why is you crying?" Dobby said revealing himself.

The girl was startled and just stared at Dobby in disbelief.

Suddenly she screamed, "Goblin!"

Colin Creevey came into sight, "No! I know he looks different, but Dobby is not a Goblin. He is a house-elf."

She looked at them in skeptical disbelief as she swiped at the tears on her face. "An Elf?"

"Yes, his name is Dobby. And my name is Colin Creevey." He extended his hand to help her up. "What's yours?"

"Ada, daughter of Swarnealc," the girl said as she got to her feet. Looking back at Dobby she asked, "Has he been corrupted by the Dark Lord?"

Colin Creevey giggled. "No, he's just a house-elf."

Ada was now looking at Colin Creevey like she had just looked at Dobby. "And you? _You_ are quite short for an Elf," she told him accusingly.

Now it was Dobby and Colin Creevey's turn to stare at Ada in disbelief.

Colin Creevey looked at a loss as a nervous laugh echoed from his throat. "But you're shorter than I am," he retorted defensively.

She burst into tears immediately.

"Why is Ada keep crying?" Dobby asked again.

"Because… because I am so hideous!" she said as the sobs intensified.

Colin Creevey looked at Dobby astounded. Whatever this girl was, one thing she was not was hideous.

"I have nearly reached my one-hundredth year…."

She stared at them clearly expecting some hint of understanding on their faces, but she received only blank stares.

Fighting back more tears, she searched for the words. "I am the size of a much younger Elf and my brothers never allow me to forget that I am a Nandorin outcast."

Colin Creevey patted her on the back. "Well it seems to me that they just must be really tall."

That seemed to cheer Ada up a bit, as she cracked a smile.

Wiping the corner of her eye, she said, "So, where did you two come from exactly?"

* * *

They were a little wary to follow Ada back to her home. Once she found out they were not from Middle-earth, however, she insisted they come to meet her father. 

Apparently, Ada was a bit more adventurous and trusting then the rest of her family.

Approaching the settlement, Dobby could not help but think that coming here was a bad idea. There were two young men – or Elves, rather – standing outside, apparently tending livestock. Both sets of eyes were on Dobby, Colin Creevey, and Ada as they moved towards her home. The way they looked at Dobby made him feel very unwelcome.

These were definitely not House-elves.

"They're so tall," Colin Creevey whispered in Dobby's ear.

The size difference was noticeable even as they approached from a distance. As they grew closer, Dobby decided these "Elves" were easily among the tallest people he had ever seen.

Finally, Ada stopped in front of the door of a shanty, which dwarfed her. As they entered Dobby could feel that the Elves' gazes had never left them.

Once inside, the newcomers were met by five people.

In one corner of the front room was a woman. Surrounding her were three children, apparently Ada's younger siblings. Despite their immature statures, their eyes displayed an almost unsettling maturity. Based on Ada's age, Dobby supposed these Elves matured very uniquely.

From the other corner came the suspicious glare of a frightening man – or Elf – that, despite his youthful face, seemed to command much power. He was a tall individual like his sons and wore outdoors attire of the same green color as Ada's dress. It was his expression that made him so terrifying.

"Well, Adamanta?" he said staring down at her in a way that only an irritated father could.

"Father, I'd like you to meet Colin Creevey and Dobby… I believe they hail from Aman."

Swarnealc proceeded to peer at Colin Creevey and Dobby, skeptically. "Aman, eh?"

Dobby did not know what they were talking about.

"Actually sir, we didn't come here from the West." Apparently, Colin Creevey had paid better attention to what the nervous one had said the night before.

"From the East then?" said Ada.

"Uh… I don't think so," said Colin Creevey nervously.

"They are spies of the Dark Lord! Clearly, this one is a goblin," said Swarnealc.

"No father, he is an Elf."

"Hah! You are so quick to trust. And what did they tell you they wanted with us?"

Colin Creevey answered, "Please, we do not want anything from you. We only just arrived in these parts and just happened upon your daughter, who was kind enough to bring us here before it became darker out."

As he said that, Dobby noticed how quickly it had grown darker. Although it was perpetual night in this world, the brightness of the stars did seem to wax and wane cyclically.

Colin Creevey took out his wand and said, "Lumos!"

As the wand shone like a torch, Swarnealc was visibly shaken. "You have Eldar magic," he said in wonder.

"Sir, we promise you that we mean you no harm."

Swarnealc's face had softened almost undetectably. "Hmm… well you can stay for dinner, but I want you gone before supper!"

* * *

The older brothers of Ada had returned from tending their animals shortly after Dobby and Colin Creevey arrived. They seemed eager to discover what mischief their sister had gotten herself into. Along with their father, the two of them towered over their sister. It was apparent that teasing her because of this was a banal event in their household. 

Strangely enough, it was not her two older brothers that teased Ada. They were actually quite solemn and serious in nature. It was who Dobby had originally thought to be her younger brothers that liked to joke and make fun. While dinner was being prepared, they discovered these younger Elves were actually her cousins and the woman was not Ada's mother, but her aunt.

It seemed there was a division in the home. Those older than Ada – her father, aunt, and two brothers – took life too seriously, Dobby thought. Based on his first impression of the younger ones, Dobby had thought them to be of a similar nature. As they made jokes at Ada's expense, however, Dobby saw that they behaved like normal Human children after all. Based on the older Elves' reactions, however, he could tell this behavior was not typical for Elven children.

Likely because he was uncomfortable in the home, Colin Creevey decided to wait for dinner outside and Dobby followed. The younger cousins of Ada also followed, gawking and whispering about the pair of them.

The young Elves looked more curious than anything. Dobby decided to spark their curiosity, literally.

Dobby snapped his fingers and red sparks shot up high into the air. He heard "ah's" from the children and he smiled. Then he snapped both fingers, shooting up red and green sparks that spiraled and intertwined. This was met by "oo's" from the children, who were now moving towards him.

"More! More!" they shouted, so Dobby put on a small "fireworks" show for them.

Colin Creevey joined in, adding apparitions of unicorns and dragons and a phoenix with his wand. These were met by awe and fright and wonder, respectively.

The gleeful expressions on their faces made Dobby feel genuinely happy. They reminded him of years ago when he would read the stories of Babbitty Rabbitty or "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" to the young and then, cheerful boy, Draco Malfoy.

When dinnertime came, the children dragged their feet home disappointed that the fun was over. Dobby promised them that he would do more magic another time and added that he would also share with them the tales of a very special wizard named Harry Potter.

Dobby could not wait to make good on his promise.

Next Chapter: Black Likes to Yack


	4. Black Likes to Yack

_A/N: I am planning 14 chapters total and am currently two chapters ahead of whats posted. Please review so I know if I should keep writing or not._

**Chapter 4 – Black Likes to Yack**

"He couldn't help it. He was never brave like you three. And Voldemort would have killed him!" Lily said adamantly.

She was always a little naïve with regard to human nature, Sirius thought. He had come to this realization years ago while they were still in school. When it came to conflict, she always sided with those she perceived as the victim, whether they were on the right or wrong side of the squall.

Sirius had a hard time accepting Lily's paradigm that the world was divided between victors and victims. The way he saw it, a person was either mostly good or mostly bad. Considering that all people contain both light and darkness, he felt it was their choices that best defined them. He strongly believed in holding people accountable for their choices, rewarding the good and punishing the evil. Although, he thought, there better be hard evidence… especially in the case of the latter.

Lily, on the other hand, embraced victimhood so wholeheartedly that she was willing to overlook morality. If the world was a conflict between the powerful and the powerless, she was determined to believe that victims were_powerless_ over their own choices.

"Lily, you _always_ have a choice. Lacking courage is no excuse for evil," retorted Sirius.

"I hardly think you can call Peter Pettigrew _evil_."

"The hell you can't! First of all, he actively caused your deaths," Sirius said indicating James and Lily. "Then he murdered twelve Muggles in his attempt to frame me and then he murdered Cedric in cold blood. So, let's see. We have three best friends betrayed, fifteen people offed," he said as he pretended to count on his fingers for dramatic effect, "and how many others dead due to the fact that he single-handedly – no pun intended – returned Voldemort to power?" He was almost out of breath as he finished in fury.

"Listen, what he did was inexcusable, bu…."

"Exactly! It was inexcusable! I don't care how much or how little bravery he possessed, it was inexcusable! And clearly he had _some_ bravery, enough to be sorted into Gryffindor, anyways."

"Hmm, that's an interesting point, Sirius," interjected Remus thoughtfully and possibly in an attempt to act as a "lightning rod of hate" on behalf of Lily. "The Sorting Hat would have never allowed an utter coward into the House of Godric Gryffindor."

James added, "Yeah, I wonder how he snuck by."

Remus continued, "He certainly is an enigma. The _only_ Gryffindor _ever_ to go on to become a Death Eater. Very strange, in deed."

Sirius was tempted to comment, but he was still fixated on convincing Lily of the error in her judgment. "And if he had it his way, Harry would have died too. You know that, right Lily?"

"Oh, come off it. You're never going to convince me that Peter was evil. His actions yes, but _him_ no," said Lily as she held her ground.

"Always protecting the victim, just like back in school. Does the name Snape ring a bell? You chose to ignore the fact that that gang of Slytherins he went around with was really just Death Eaters in grooming."

"Maybe if you hadn't been so cruel to him all those years, he would have never been driven to the dark side in the first place." Lily was getting visibly upset now.

"Oh, now you're blaming me for _his _choices."

"Alright, enough," said James calmly, but firmly. "We are all together for the first time in twenty-some odd years and all you want to talk about is Snape and Wormtail?"

An awkward silence loomed over the group. There were two things Sirius desperately loathed: boredom and silence. More than anything else in Azkaban – even the Dementors – it was these two things that had affected him the most while imprisoned.

He laughed suddenly, surprising those who were still held captive by the silence. "Hey, remember when he lost his rattail under your hoof in the Shrieking Shack?" Sirius said looking at James. "After he transformed back, we had to transfigure him a diaper on his way to the hospital wing!"

* * *

The reunion of the Marauders – take away Peter – was like a dream come true for Sirius. His heart had been empty for the better part of two decades, but it now felt full again. He wanted nothing more than to forget the bad times and remember the good by reminiscing with his old friends. 

As the stories were shared they brought forth the memories from Sirius's mind. He recalled the time spent in Gryffindor Tower as a sort of golden age, a paradise lost. Sneaking out with the map, sneaking in with Firewhiskey, playing pranks, chasing after young witches; the memories came flooding back.

"Hey, remember the Engorgement Charm that we used on Flitwick?" asked Sirius hoping to spark more conversation.

"You mean that _you_ used," corrected Remus.

James laughed. "He was almost a normal height, but remember his head? It was huge. It was so disproportional."

Lily smirked. "Yes, we remember that Sirius. We also remember how he put you in your place afterward. Not very smart to pull a prank on a former duelling champion, huh?"

"_Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus_, Sirius," said Remus with his unique brand of endearing condescension.

Sirius's eyes narrowed and then widened as another memory struck him. "Hey, remember when we got Hagrid with a Reducio?"

"That was you?!" yelled Lily in disbelief with a hint of disgust.

"Your husband, actually," said Sirius with a smirk.

Lily's head turned towards James dramatically. "Really?" she said drawing out the question accusingly.

James put up his hands defensively, "Wait. Wait. It was third year, well before we all became friends with the lovable oaf."

Remus suddenly indicated for them to be quiet with his finger. "Look," he said in a whisper. "What are they doing?"

Sirius followed Remus's gaze towards the woods where he saw Snape and Moody fleeing into the forest. While they were not exactly trying to be clandestine, they were sure moving swiftly.

No matter, Sirius thought.

"Hey, remember when we used Permanent Sticking Charms to put pictures of Snivellus in all the toilets at Hogwarts?"

Remus just stared in irritated disbelief at Sirius, with one finger to his lips to indicate quiet.

"Oh come on, they aren't even saying anything and, even if they were, you couldn't hear it from here."

Remus looked back at Sirius again like a teacher would look at a disruptive student.

Apparently, Professor Lupin had unilaterally decided that story time was over.

* * *

While the others were hypothesizing about what Snape and Moody might be up to, Sirius had become enveloped in his own thoughts. 

He was still a little annoyed with Remus.

Reciting in his head the stories they had told that morning, Sirius thought about how each of them had recalled events with a slightly different spin, especially Remus, the pessimist, and he, the optimist. It was his optimism and his happy memories that kept Sirius from breaking during all those years in prison… that and the hope for vengeance.

For twelve years, he was the only one besides God – or Iluvatar – who knew that Peter Pettigrew was still alive. Until Remus saw the rat's proper name on their map, Sirius was the only person who knew that Wormtail was "posthumously" awarded the Order of Merlin based on an absolute lie.

If only the Ministry had examined the case more closely….

When Sirius came across that picture in the Daily Prophet, one glance was all he needed to recognize Peter's rat form. The missing toe only served to verify what he already knew. With all the time they had spent together in their animal forms, running around and keeping Moony company, he would have been shocked if he had _not_ recognized his old pal.

Old pal….

That was why he was laughing when the Magical Law Enforcement Squad found him. They had thought him mad. After all, who would laugh in the face of all those dead bodies?

No, he was not mad. He was shocked. The laughter was there to keep back the crying.

They had been friends. How could Peter have done that to him? How could he kill all those people and frame his friend? Worse yet, how could he betray James and Lily knowing that it would lead to their deaths?

Why had Sirius laughed? Not because he was a madman. He laughed because of the irony of it all. How could Peter – of all people – have pulled that off? Sirius could hardly believe it to this day. The bumbling fool had never accomplished anything in his life. He could not even pull simple pranks off; he _always_ seemed to give himself away.

No one would suspect that Peter could pull something of that magnitude off. It had been James and Sirius who were always the most skilled at trickery. Sirius guessed that was why everyone was so quick to believe that he was the culprit and Peter the victim.

How wrong they all were.

When Dumbledore learned that Voldemort was targeting James and Lily, it was he – Sirius – who suggested making Peter the Secret-Keeper. Sirius was the obvious choice; Voldemort, knowing this, would have come after him first. He did not defer the responsibility of being Secret-Keeper to Peter because he feared for his own life. On the contrary, he did it because he feared for James and Lily.

Who would suspect anyone would make Peter the Secret-Keeper of anything?

Apparently, Voldemort would. Voldemort had recruited Peter shortly after they had all left Hogwarts. He was a spy from the time he joined the Order of the Phoenix.

How could Sirius have been so brainless as to suggest Peter as Secret-Keeper? Of course there was no way that he could have known him a spy. Regardless, had Sirius been Secret-Keeper he would have gone to his death before revealing anything. Even if Peter had not been a spy, he would have broken under the mere threat of torture. At least Sirius thought he would. After watching who he thought was the most spineless person he knew cut off his own finger, Sirius did not know what to believe about his former friend's willpower.

How could he have been so dim?

It was his fault that James and Lily died.

"No, no," he told himself, "it was Peter and Voldemort's fault."

It was the same internal struggle he had dealt with for years. He had said the same things to himself during many sleepless nights in his cell at Azkaban and his other "prison" at Grimmauld Place.

There was no reason to continue this winless battle against himself. He now had his friends back.

All was well.

"Although, things _had_ changed," thought Sirius as he stared at Remus's graying temples and then at his own pink-haired cousin beside her husband.

He looked over at Lily, who was saying something about Ekem.

They were his best friends' wives – the loves of their lives – but he just could not help but wish that it had been just the men with him now.

The women were not horrible, they were just argumentative and he did not always like the way they looked at him. Women often prejudged blokes like him. Just because you are boisterous and confident, does not mean you are not also compassionate and thoughtful. If only they took the time to get to know him. People always liked him better once they really got to know him. He was like a sweet: hard candy shell with a soft chocolatey center.

Looking at his cousin again over the fire Fred had just lit, he wondered what Remus could possibly have in common with her. After all, there was a thirteen year difference between the two. He supposed that if some twenty-something wanted a go at him, he would let her melt in his mouth _or_ in his hand.

As he thought about it, Sirius realized he had not seen any action in quite some time. In fact, the last thing that even came close was when he was in Hogsmeade to meet Harry and caught Rosmerta undressing in a window. Her body was like a good Firewhiskey; it improved with age. Sirius would know, since he had seen it many a nights in the racing broom closet in Hogwarts, years ago.

He was such a horn dog. Literally.

Why could he not think to say witty lines like that in regular conversation?

Probably because the ladies would get offended and attack, that's why. Men always liked his rude, crude humor. Women, on the other hand, always wondered why he could not control his impulses to say inappropriate things. He could not help it; these things just came to him naturally and once he thought them up, he just had to share his own amusement with everyone else.

Oh, the troubles of a sensitive cocky bastard….

* * *

"So _you_ were the ones that made the Marauder's Map?!" exclaimed Fred. 

Sirius was snapped out of his deep thoughts by the opportunity to reminisce some more. "Ah, so you've heard of our little handy work, eh?"

"Heard of it? I was a proud owner for five years, before… George… and I gave it to your godson."

"So, that's how it came into Harry's possession," said Remus with a warm smile.

At that moment, Snape and Moody emerged from the woods and silently returned to their tent.

James shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it got too late for whatever they're doing out there."

"Speaking of out there," Lily said, "where have Dobby and Colin gone off to?"

"Off having their club meeting, of course," Fred jested, nudging Cedric beside him.

"Well, we don't really know what's out there, do we?" Lily said ignoring Fred.

"I'm sure Dobby can take care of Colin if anything should happen," said James.

"Don't underestimate Colin, either. I saw him fight during the Battle of Hogwarts. In fact, I think the Death Eaters targeted him because he was doing a little too much damage," said Remus with the same look he always got when he shared something he knew that those around him did not. This happened a little too often for Sirius's liking.

"Well, maybe we'd better look for them anyhow." Sirius would not have minded some adventure and, besides, he was genuinely worried. This was foreign territory for all of them; better to be safe.

"It's not as if you'd know where to look… it's just forest as far as the eye can see," said Fred "which isn't very far in this constant darkness. If they want to be found… they'll be found."

As if Dobby and Colin had heard Fred, suddenly red sparks shot up out of the forest to the south.

"Apparently, they want to be found," said Sirius.

Dumbledore and Ekem sprang from what seemed like nowhere. "Did you see that?" asked Ekem excitably.

"James, Sirius, Remus," Dumbledore said resolutely, "we must find Dobby and Colin."

At his beckon, all the Marauders were beside Dumbledore in an instant. Without discussion, they entered the woods and headed in the direction that the red sparks had been. Sirius wondered if the ladies were upset Dumbledore did not ask them to come, not that he minded at all.

"All right, Ekem, I think you better tell us what we're up against," Sirius said as they walked along.

"Orcs, perchance?" said Remus

Ekem studdered, "No. There shouldn't be any Orcs around here. At least… I think not."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "That's comforting."

"Well, there are Elves in these woods," said Ekem trying to avoid harassment.

"Great, the campsite could use a little cleaning up," said Sirius.

"Oh, I doubt _these_ Elves would even consider that," Ekem said, failing to notice Sirius's sarcasm. "They're not like House-elves and, from what I've heard of them, they are very proud and very powerful."

"I imagine they would be on our side after how the Dark Lord corrupted their brethren," said Remus.

"Well, that is not exactly common knowledge in Middle-earth, but when the time comes, I still hope they will help us."

"Hmm," James said, clearly pondering something. He raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose they speak the Queen's English around here. How exactly are we supposed to gain their help?"

"Obviously Ekem is from these parts, he would know how to speak to them," said Sirius.

Ekem's eyes seemed to search his brain for something to say.

"Which begs the question: where did you learn to speak English?" asked Remus.

Ekem opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore interrupted. "I imagine that I can answer that." The Marauders turned towards Dumbledore curiously, all the while continuing onward through the forest. "Legilimency can be quite the communication tool when used by very powerful wizards."

"Legilimency?" asked Remus, confused by this new knowledge. "I suppose I could understand how the skilled Legilimens could use it to _understand_ another language, but to communicate back and forth, surely Legimency is not sufficient."

"You would be surprised, Remus. Legilimency is a thought withdrawal technique. Though difficult, it is possible to withdraw enough thoughts to speak someone's own language back to them. How do you think Barty Crouch could speak over two hundred languages? There have never been language courses at Hogwarts; he could not have learned them there. And two hundred languages from traveling abroad? I think not. He was purely a very skilled Legilimens."

"So that's how you 'learned' Mermish," said James. "I always heard it was impossible for Humans to learn."

Dumbledore blushed. "Well, actually, it _is_ possible. Actually, I learned it before I even knew Legilimency, back when I was a student. Elphias and I always enjoyed conversing with the Mermen at the lake. They taught us quite a bit, actually."

Ekem stared blankly and then said, "Right… well, that's how it's done: Legilimency."

Remus coughed. "The one thing I do not understand is how you plan on having _us_ talk to the Elves. I am not sure _all_ of us are capable."

Sirius laughed. "And how exactly are _you_ capable of this anyways?" Sirius asked of Ekem.

"You doubt my abilities?"

"Well, yes I do," Sirius replied with a laugh at Ekem's expense.

Ekem turned from Sirius and addressed the group as a whole. "The reason you'll be able to communicate with Elves or anyone else in this world is because I have cast a spell of Legilimency by proxy on all of you."

Ekem looked impressed with himself, while the rest looked surprised or confused, except for Dumbledore who looked rather apathetic. Sirius imagined little would surprise Dumbledore.

"By proxy?" questioned Remus.

"Yes, basically, my Legilimency Spell is working _through_ all of you. Therefore, you will be able to converse freely with anyone in any language without a second thought."

Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "And how exactly are you capable of such magic?"

Ekem half smiled and then, while holding up his ash staff and staring at Dumbledore, said, "This is a very powerful staff."

_Next Chapter: Dumbledore and his Chore_


End file.
